Practices to consider when cultivating class culture

By Ben Pack – April 14, 2021

As is true for many professors, class culture is a large part of my pedagogy. Helping students develop relationships with peers and mentors may not be an explicit course objective, but it is often a way to achieve those objectives. After all, how can students engage in critical discourse if they don’t build relationships with the people in those discourse communities?

Making sure students enjoy their work is also one of the ways I (not so) sneakily get students to invest in the class. Although I’d like to think being a good professor is sufficient to draw students to discussion and workshops, I know that the opportunity to see and make friends is a bigger pull. And that’s great! Those friendships can last a lifetime — I went to USC as an undergraduate 20 years ago, and I still collaborate with those friends.

One of the challenges of transitioning into online learning last year was that it took away many of the sites where class culture traditionally occurred — the classroom most obviously, but also offices, study spaces around campus, coffee shops and all the other spots where you run into people in random yet delightful ways.

In conversing with several other professors, I’ve developed the following list of practices to consider when cultivating class culture. While this certainly pertains to online courses, it also applies to in person learning. In thinking about when we return to campus (hopefully in the not too distant future) culture will be especially important for the rising sophomores and freshmen, who will have never been to campus and will need time to acclimate to in-person learning.

 

Setting up the class and norms

Almost all the professors I spoke to mentioned the importance of the first week of class and how it can set expectations and build norms. For students who are new to college, still adjusting to online learning, or for those who have developed habits we want to adjust, these first weeks are especially important.

  • Write and speak in the affirmative, especially on your syllabus and in introductions. Describe what you want students to do. What are your goals or aspirations for the class? This positive language helps place students and instructors on the same side, whereas negative language about what not to do or language that focuses on problems you want to avoid can create an adversarial atmosphere. Griping about the downsides of online learning contributes to the feeling that these courses are somehow second rate, when they are in fact just different, and indeed come with many upsides that are unavailable with in-person learning.
  • Syllabi: be honest about online (or in person) norms — what do you expect to see from students? Recognize that the norms in a classroom might not apply to the norms at home (pets and younger siblings don’t attend class, but they’re likely to show up on screen at home — and that’s okay). Consider where you can be flexible as an instructor. Guide students through how to protect privacy (through virtual backgrounds) or how to improve internet connections (using an ethernet cable, or speaking to IT services at USC for help) so that they feel comfortable being on camera if needed.
  • Explain norms which are unique to college, such as office hours (many students don’t know what these are actually for). Here’s the language I use on my syllabus:
    • “Office hours are an important part of the class – this is unstructured time for us to share dialogue and learn independently. Some of my favorite conversations with students have occurred in office hours. They are a chance for us to ask questions, raise concerns, celebrate successes, and build relationships. I learn a lot as an instructor from these interactions, and I invite you to join me whenever you like.”

Although we’re heading into the final month of school, it’s still possible to do many of these things too: issue an addendum to the syllabus which benefits the students if you need to. Remind students about office hours, but also tell them why it will benefit them and why you’re there to support them. Conduct a feedback session or poll asking students what resources or lessons they need from you in the last month of class in order to succeed in the course; follow-up and provide those resources. Be positive and encourage students in the final stretch. Recognize the hard work they are putting into showing up and completing assignments.

 

Set aside open spaces in the class for students to engage each other

Without traditional campus-life, digital classrooms are one of the few places where students meet each other and collaborate now. As helpful as it is to lay out norms in the beginning of the semester and follow through on them, setting aside un-directed time is also valuable. If every moment of class is scripted, there’s no longer time for students to build informal relationships with peers. In a physical lecture hall or discussion, you’d sit down with the same people, share notes, and chat after class. On Zoom, space can be made to replicate those interactions while still achieving course objectives. Consider:

  • In breakout rooms, ask students to complete tasks, but let them determine how. Tell students you’ll join them in breakout rooms only if they call you in for help. You can then check for completion of the work when they return to the main session (or ask them to submit notes/answers to a Google doc/form, or assignment).
  • Encourage students to share best practices and their challenges with one another through assignments and/or writing that prompts reflection on their experiences. Students are a great resource for one another, but they don’t always have venues to share that information.
  • For online teaching, consider leaving your Zoom classroom open when class finishes, but be the first to leave so students can continue talking to one another without you being present. This can mimic the moment students would have in the halls, leaving class.
  • One professor I spoke to has students sign up for 10-minute coffee breaks with one another at key points throughout the semester. In these sessions, students can talk about class or whatever subjects they choose.

 

Group projects and student-led pedagogy

Make students indispensable to the class. We all want to feel like our work matters and that we’re part of a bigger community. When assignments lose their focus and purpose, they begin to feel like busy work. When class objectives fall out of line with student needs and goals, it’s hard to persuade them that the work is worthwhile. Involving students in the way we teach can not only bring them greater ownership, but help them better understand concepts and why they are important. After all, students are in college to learn — that means they might not always know why course material matters. All the more reason to show them:

  • Assign small group projects and presentations. Although nothing revolutionary, these projects allow students to meet asynchronously and set the pace for their work. In doing so, students can also make deeper connections to one another.
  • Ask students to teach the material. In my upper division writing classes, I model the first reading discussion and then student pairs lead every discussion after that. A few days prior to each discussion I meet with them to discuss their learning objectives for the day and the questions they plan to ask. Afterwards, I ask students to write reflective pieces on the experience. Afterwards, students generally express greater appreciation for the effort that lesson-planning takes and they are more attentive and engaged in conversations when their peers lead.

When we return to in-person learning, I imagine a focus on class culture will remain just as relevant, if not more so. After students have been away from campus for over a year (or have never been to campus at all) I think we can expect them to be eager to socialize and meet one another face-to-face. Asking them to spend hours alone in a library or dorm studying like monks and nuns probably won’t cut it — I know that if I were in their shoes, I’d be tempted to make friends over writing an essay. However,  by making our classrooms a center for campus life and culture, we can help students make those peer connections while achieving our course objectives too.